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All posts for the day September 1st, 2017

This is the flagship from LG we were truly waiting for, this beast of a device, is probably going to be the first Smartphone that will make LG’s Korean rivals look back, with it’s gorgeous display which is FINALLY OLED, the highest end Audio you’re going to find (in terms of playback) and the worlds widest Aperture Camera in a Smartphone!

Whilst the device may sound pretty huge with a 6 inch display, the bezels on the V30 are actually smaller than the recently announce Galaxy Note 8, which should ease some of the lug at carrying this around. That’s not to say this isn’t a big Smartphone, it definitely is, though more of a narrower device thanks to the 18:9 aspect ratio chosen by LG. That display has finally made the switch to a beautiful P-OLED panel, which makes this probably the first Smartphone this year to truly compete with Samsung in the display area, the display of which is 2880 x 1440 and protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

The LG V30 is also IP68 water and dust resistance, but also certified to the MIL-STD 810G standard, so needless to say, LG is confident in their Water and Dust resistance on this thing!

The V30 features support for HDR, as well as an Always On display, which actually makes sense now as the phone is actually OLED. The phone packs a decent punch with a Snapdragon 835 processor, backed up by 4GB of RAM. LG are also throwing in much more internal storage to boot, up to 64 and 128GB options, both of which keep their expandable storage option via microSD Card.

LG continues their dual-Camera set-up with the V30 as well, and continues to be one of the few companies who instead of using the secondary sensor to zoom inward, instead choose to zoom outward, though now that zooming outward is more further than ever, which we’ll get to shortly. The primary Camera is a 16MP affair, though coupled with that is a 13MP Camera with an insane aperture of F/1.9, this thing takes wide-angle to a whole new level.

The LG V30 also features an all glass and aluminium sides design, which allows the 4 colour choices shown above, in Black, Silver, Blue and Pink, all of which just look incredible in the hand, our favourite has to be the stealth looking Black model.

The V30 continues LG’s routes with Audio, featuring the same 32-bit DAC found in the LG G6, which has proved to be the best device for Audio this year, whether that be via USB Audio or via the headphone jack, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 for high quality wireless audio.

The device features a somewhat decent 3300mAh battery, the same as the Note 8, however the device is slightly smaller, and features less bloat than typically from Samsung, so we’d bet better battery life, though that battery remains non-replacable.

LG V30 Hands-On: Cinema-Quality Smartphone

Pricing for the LG V30 has yet to be announced, but should be revealed shortly along with release, one thing we do know is, this is LG’s best Smartphone by far, we just wish it was the one announced earlier in the year.

Sony are one of those companies that just love announcing new phones, problem is they also love announcing new phones that aren’t that much different to what’s already out there, and the XZ1 series of Smartphones is more or less just that.

Sony recently announced the XZ Premium Smartphone, which is an incredible 4K displayed powerhouse, but that display comes at a price. If you wanted those internals, but are happy to not have a 4K panel, you’re about to see those devices right here! One great thing about theses devices however, is they do come pre-installed with Android Oreo right out of the box.

This is the base model Xperia XZ1, a 5.2 inch Sony flagship, with all the power of the Xperia XZ Premium, literally just missing the 4K display. The also slightly smaller XZ1, features a 1080p display, which isn’t the best resolution, but we’ve no complaints, and the full power of the Qualcomm SnapDragon 835, which will likely run incredibly well on that Full-HD Display for that very reason, so if you like a fast and smooth Smartphone experience, you’re going to get it out of this device. That display remains Sony’x TRILUMINOS, and is a Full-HD HDR Display as well, meaning perfect colour accuracy across the board, with an sRGB of 138%. Gorilla Glass 5 is also here for protection front and back.

The XZ1 supports full High res audio formats, including FLAC, ALAC, DSD and LPCM, through the high quality DAC in the headphone jack. PS4 remote play is also supported for an added Sony exclusivity.

Whether you choose the Moonlit Black, Warm Silver, Venus Pink, or the Black, you have the same Water resistance you’d expect from a Sony, the same 19MP Camera front and back, with an insane 960fps Slow-mo video as demonstrated on the XZ Premium, and at least for us non-Americans a Fingerprint scanner in the lock button.

If you’re already familiar with the XZ Premium, you already know what this device can do, other than Android O out of the box and a Full-HD instead of 4K, that is what this phone is, but that’s certainly not a bad thing.

The XZ1 will retail for £599 SIM Free, and is available to pre-order now.

Whilst the XZ1 is a great Smartphone featuring all the power of the XZ Premium, this is what’s really incredible, fitting all the power of the XZ Premium in to a Compact Smartphone. This is a 4.6 inch display Smartphone, with a Snapdragon 835, the same 960fps video recording, Android O, 19MP Camera front and back, the same stereo front speakers, water resistance, do we even need to go on!

The same colour options are on the XZ1 Compact as well, the Black, Moonlit Black, Warm Silver (shown) and Venus Pink, in fact compared to the XZ1 above it, this is exactly the same Smartphone, just smaller, compact and the best one handed Smartphone you’re going to see.

Unfortunately, just like the XZ1, and XZ Premium, whilst we have a Fingerprint scanner on these units, the US audience will not, which makes very little sense to us, but that’s the way it is.

In a world where Smartphones seem to continue to get larger, this is about as refreshing as it gets, no longer do you have to go for an iPhone for the top performance in the industry, plus with a base starting price of just £499, you know this thing is going to be incredibly affordable, especially on Contracts.

IFA 2017 is upon us and Samsung have kicked things off early by announcing a collection of Wearable Smart Devices. Whilst Samsung’s Gear devices aren’t always the most popular choice for those on Android, they did recently gain iOS compatibility as well, making this a very compelling choice for those looking for some Android Wear alternatives.

First up is this, the Samsung Gear Sport. This is a refreshing take on Smart Watches for the Android platform as for the first time in what seems ever, this is actually a Smart Watch that might actually fit on your wrist, or at least begins the slow road getting there. Unlike the massive Gear S3, the Gear Sport has a shrunken down display, which naturally reflects in the size of the device on your wrist. That doesn’t stop it from being relatively big at 42mm, equal to Apple’s larger Apple Watch, but it’s a step in the right direction.

One of our biggest complaints about all Smart Watches on Android is their size, it’s incredible that the only Smart Watch you can get under 40mm is the 38mm Apple Watch, and we remain hopeful that this size will eventually make it down in the Android offerings as not everyone wants a massive slab on their smaller wrists, but this we’re happy to report is reaching that point.

The Gear Sport runs the same Tizen software as previous Smart Watches from Samsung, and has a beautiful 1.2 inch (360 x 360) AMOLED Display, which, we don’t need to tell you, looks great. The device has an ambient light sensor to keep the actually fairly bright display at bey. The software on version 3.0 has been slightly tweaked, though the navigation remains the same, the dial still twists for navigation and the usual two physical buttons remain. The basic Samsung Voice Assistant is what you’ll be stuck with for now however, as Bixby is expected in a future update.

Samsung’s big focus with the Gear Sport however is in it’s Water Resistance. We’re far beyond a basic IP68 from a Smartphone, this thing can literally swim with no problems, up to a massive 50m depth. Samsung claim swimming will be no problem with this Watch, even Showering if you’re that way inclined, however Diving is not recommended due to the pressure.

The Gear Sport supports Samsung Pay, however some maybe disappointed that it’s only the NFC variety. The battery has also seen a decrease at just 300mAh, though let’s not forget the screen is smaller and some other features have been drawn down which should help that. Performance on the 1Ghz Dual-Core Processor feels snappy, WiFi / Bluetooth 4.2 / NFC and GPS are great for outdoor fitness tracking, and the improved loudspeaker and microphone should make phone calls that much better. The onboard 4GB of Storage can also be used to store your MP3s or Spotify caches to listen to on the move, with or without a Smartphone present.

The Samsung Gear Sport is expected very soon, and will be compatible with any Android device running 4.4 KitKat or later, or iPhone 5 or later running at least iOS 9.

Samsung also announced the Gear Fit2 Pro, the continuation of their Fitness bands, which continues the trend of a curved 1.5inch (216 x 432) AMOLED display and comes in black or red.

Just like the Gear Sport, the Fit2 Pro gains 50m water resistance, and runs the Tizen Operating System, meaning compatibility with both Android and iOS remains.

Samsung partnered with Spotify on the device, allowing you to download your Spotify playlists and listen to them on the move, even without a Smartphone nearby, this will naturally require Bluetooth headphones, but the convenience is naturally very welcome.

A Speedo app is also available on the device, which allows you to monitor your swimming strokes, lap times and count and more workouts for other Sport activities.

The Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro is expected very soon, and pricing around £199.

Last up are theses, the Samsung IconX, the second generation of what you could probably call Samsung’s AirPods. However, unlike Apple’s AirPods, the IconX come in three colours (pictured), offer 6 hours of music playback, before a full charge on the casing, and what seems to be better quality audio.

The devices feature a gesture panel at the back of the Earphones to perform Smart tasks , however what is rather disappointing is nothing seems to have really improved in this, in terms of usability and reliability, nothing seems to have changed, which is concerning as the first generation had a number of audio skip issues, which we’re naturally hoping get resolved before the soon release.

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